No comparison

Fall is our final "new" season here in our new town, state, home, etc.  It has officially been my favorite season here.  We looked at homes last year during the fall and I remember it being pretty but I think I was too stressed to really take in how pretty this area is in the fall.  I have spent fall in a few places in my life:  Marshall MN;  Cedar Falls IA;  Kansas City KS;  Ankeny IA; and it has been my favorite season in all of these places.  Our new town is filled with hills and trees making for a beautiful fall canvas.   I sometimes feel like I am a tourist visiting for "fall colors" as I drive around town, which is completely wonderful.  There really is no comparison to how pretty it is here right now.

But I have been looking back lately as well.  I have been missing something from Iowa a lot....and that is our orchard we went to every year, weekly, in the fall there.  The orchard is out in the country and sits on acres of land with both apple and pumpkin picking and also lots family fun to be had...which was honestly the main attraction for us.  We have missed the orchard and have been trying a few here in South Central Minnesota:

First stop.  Center Creek Orchard.  We went for a couple of hours one Saturday.  The kids LOVED it.  The loved this ride the most.  The orchard had some bounce houses, a slide, a short hayrack ride, a hay pile to climb in.  A very fun day.

2nd stop:  Emma Krumbees in Belle Plaine, MN.  They had a great fun zone for kids, short hay rack ride, a hay pile and a lot of great things for kids. 

Both were a lot of fun....but they weren't our old orchard.  We missed our old orchard.  We missed the open spaces, etc.  As far as orchards go....there really is no comparison to Center Grove in Cambridge, IA. 

And that is ok.  It really isn't a huge deal that we don't go the best orchard around but that we go and have some family fun.  Lately, as I feel myself go down the comparison path between this one and our old one.....something a new friend of mine said to me keeps convicting me.  She did not mean to say this to convict me but it just stuck with me.  We were talking about moving and old versus new, etc. when she brought up Paul and how he wrote that he was "forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead"(Phillipians 3:13).  My friend talked about how we often think that we need to forget all the bad stuff that we did or said before we became believers but sometimes we need to let go of some of the good stuff behind us as well.  Not that we forget the places that we made memories as a family but that we don't yearn for them, and while doing so we miss out on the new things, places, people and memories that God has in store for us.

Wow...did I need to hear that.  I needed to know that while it was ok for me to miss a place which I have such fond family memories from, and it is ok to look for new fun places.... I can't put all my hope in that.  I need to be careful.  I can spend too much time in looking back or in missing a place or time and then I lose sight of all that is going on right now in my life.  All the good in my life right now.  God knows what is best and I need to embrace THAT and embrace the "new" things, places, people and memories He has for us.

So orchards...we have had fun but it has not been the same.  There is no comparison to our Iowa orchard really.

The "new" for us has been hiking in the fall here in our new place.  Two years ago I was hiking on this path that I had taken over and over with the kids near our home in Iowa.  I remember thinking about how much I loved to be outdoors with the kids and it would be neat to have MANY places for them to play outdoors.

And that is our "new".  Our new area is full of woods, trails, creeks.  These areas are part of the new memories we are creating as a family.  There is really no comparison to all the great areas to explore here.

Hay rack ride at the local state park.  Part of an annual fall festival.  We had a hay rack ride, nature inspired crafts, a candlelit hike, hot cocoa and roasting marshmellows.  It was a great night.

 Seriously....the landscape here all like this.  Just so pretty!

 The candlelit hike...with real candles....I don't know what Smokey would think of this idea.....

And our new favorite place. Playsets, creeks to stomp in, cute bridges, miles of hiking trails, hills and trees.....love it!

Caleb is starting to get the hang of this whole hiking thing....

We were on a scavenger hunt...hence the Halloween buckets.

And some people riding horses stopped to let us pet their horses while riding and then even let the kids ride a bit = score.  My 6-year old horse loving daughter enjoyed that a bit :)

 

So I am praising God in this season.  Trying to look back at our old life with fond memories but not get trapped in wishing for things to remain the same.  Trying to strain for what is ahead of us in our new town and area.  There is really no comparison to living that way.